What do you guys think the minimum enclosure size is for a full grown retic? I have my female in a 6x4x2 she’s about 1 1/2 years old so she has quite a bit of time to grow into it before she’s need an upgrade. What’s your opinion on this controversial topic?
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Honestly, most people are going to tell you that they can fit inside a 8 foot enclosure. Well this is true, it may not always be the best choice. If not grossly overfed retics can actually stay a “manageable” size for a retic. I believe 8 foot enclosure can work as long as the depth is also there. But 10 feet with more depth can’t be horrible for snakes that are pretty active though.
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Imo, you can get away with a “smaller” enclosure as long as you maximize the amount of stretching space. Shelves, height, multiple levels to access and move around the enclosure. With that said, I keep my largest Boa (She’s maybe 7’ and almost 7 years old) is in a Vision 632 so I do like providing a lot of space when possible.
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I agree that height is important. You could be okay with that footprint (I would go bigger) if you got a taller one. Try to keep her lean, not underfed, but avoid overfeeding (unfortunately most retics are).
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And if you keep them lean they will still like to climb!
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I say go with the same rule we use for any snake. They need to be able to stretch out fully on no more than 2 sides of the enclosure. Since this is an arboreal snake they also need a lot of height on top of that for climbing. I don’t know why some people get a snake that can get to giant sizes and then try to justify keeping them in a very tiny enclosure for said size. Retics aren’t nearly as inactive as some snakes, so they do need the room.
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What kind of space do you have to work with? I’d just go as big as you possibly can.
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There is no 100% definitive answer as to what size cage a retic needs. Every retic might have different requirement. I have some animals that are more active then others. Some do better and feel more secure in a smaller enclosure. I have always used visions for all of my retics, and even my biggest animals do well in them. I do try to get my animals out atleast once a week and cruise around the snake room for some excercise which I think is extremely beneficial to them. I have quite a few older animals in the 10 year old+ range and they are absolutely doing amazing.
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